Birthday party planning, written for parents

Three long reads on running a child's birthday at home. What to do four weeks out, which games hold which ages, and how to build a scavenger hunt in an ordinary house. Nothing to print, nothing to buy.

Party planning Ages 4 to 15
A parent sitting in an armchair with a phone, under a wall clock, planning without hurry.

The kids birthday party checklist

Four weeks broken into five short sessions, a run sheet for the day, and the six mistakes that cost you the afternoon. Written for a parent doing this around a job.

Read the checklist
Three children at a birthday party standing apart, each looking at a phone, with an uncut cake on the table between them.

Birthday party games for kids

Thirty games sorted by age and by the moment in the party they fix, plus the three formations that rescue a game you have already lost. No shopping and no printing.

Read the games
Three children sitting on a rug in front of a television at a decorated party, with a parent standing beside them.

Birthday scavenger hunt ideas

Build the route first and the clues write themselves. A route for a small house, twenty clues you can copy by age, and what to put at the end so it does not finish in an argument.

Read the hunt